From: Interfaith Working Group Subject: IWG Decatur Georgia, Religious support for gay rights Date: Sat, 14 Feb 1998 22:30:08 -0500 (EST) The following went out on IWG letterhead listing 12 congregations and organizations and 53 clergy from 15 religious traditions. If you are in the general Philadelphia area and represent a congregation or religious organization or are clergy, let us know if you want to be added - all faiths are welcome. We will also be happy to help start similar organizations in other areas. February 14, 1998 The Decatur Daily Box 2213 Decatur, AL 35609 Dear Editors: We were pleased to see from L.L. Colquitt's February 11 letter that those who oppose equal rights for sexual minorities are no longer able to ignore the diversity of religious opinion on the issue. However, Colquitt mischaracterizes religious support for gay rights as "members of the mainline, liberal Christian churches who have abandoned God's word in favor of political correctness." There are people from many religious traditions engaged in this debate, including Catholics, Quakers, Mormons, Unitarian-Universalists, Pentecostals, Jews, Baptists, Buddhists and members of the Ethical Society and Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, as well as members of the mainline Protestant denominations to which Colquitt refers. There are also as many reasons for the support of sexual minorities as there are religions. Among Christians the reasons include disagreement over what the Bible actually says, concentration on the spirit over the letter of the law, and/or a belief that some Biblical passages, including "love your neighbor as yourself," and "whatever you did to the least of these you did unto me" (among others) take precedence over those cited by proponents of heterosexual superiority. We invite your readers to visit the Interfaith Working Group web site at http://www.libertynet.org/~iwg for a more accurate and extensive view of faith-based support for gay rights and other social issues. Sincerely, Barbara Purdom Christopher Purdom Interfaith Working Group Coordinators -- Interfaith Working Group Religious organizations, congregations iwg@libertynet.org and clergy supporting gay rights, http://www.libertynet.org/~iwg/ reproductive freedom, and the 215-235-3050 separation of church and state.